Brave CF announces full ‘Brave 16: Abu Dhabi’ fight card

The 16th event of Brave Combat Federation will take place at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on September 21, 2018. The Bahrain-based mixed martial arts promotion has released the complete fight card, which will feature 11 bouts.

“Brave 16” will take place under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Among the 11 bouts of the event, two are major championship title fights.

In the main event, reigning Brave CF Welterweight Champion, Carlston “Mocambique” Harris, 30, Guyana will defend his title for the first time. His challenger is Jarrah “The Jordanian Lion” Al-Selawe, 26, of Jordan.

In the co-main event, reigning Brave CF Featherweight Champion Elias “Smile” Boudegzdame, 24, of Algeria will defend his title for the second time. His challenger is 2011 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I wrestling champion Bubba Jenkins, 30, of the United States.

The main card features the flyweight bout between 10-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World Champion Bruno Malfacine, 32, of Brazil facing Cristian “Sugar Gloder” Rodriguez, Jr., 25, of the U.S. Making his return is Mohammad “The Latest” Fakhreddine, 34, of Lebanon, who will face Gadzhimusa “Deadshot” Gaziev, 26, of Dagestan, Russia.

Undefeated fighters Mounir “The Sniper” Lazzez, 30, of Tunisia and Dmitrijs “Dima” Homjakovs, 25, of Sweden will make their Brave CF debuts at “Brave 16.” They will face each other in a catchweight bout.

Another undefeated fighter will compete on the undercard. Making his Brave CF debut with a professional MMA record of 8 wins and 0 loss, Leon Aliu, 29, of Albania will face Chad “Superman” Hanekom, 26, of South Africa. Guram Kutateladze, 26, of Georgia is also making his promotional debut at “Brave 16” in the lightweight division against Erick “Indio Brabo” da Silva, 29, of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Hamza Kooheji, 25, of Bahrain will return to face Crisanto “The Slugger” Pitpitunge, 31, of the Philippines in a bantamweight matchup. Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre, 38, of the Philippines will face Flavio Serafim of Brazil in yet another catchweight bout.

Louis “Leonidas” Sanoukidakis, 29, of Canada will make his Brave CF debut at “Brave 16” facing Nawras “The Honey Badger” Abzakh, 26, of Jordan, who is returning after a victory at “Brave 10: The Kingdom Rises.” The former is the training partner of UFC fighter Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, 37, at Tristar Gym.

The opening fight of “Brave 16” is a flyweight bout between Hussein “Iron” Ayyad, 24, of Bahrain and John Cris “Happy Feet” Corton, 26, of the Philippines. The former is an International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) medalist while the latter is from Team Lakay and is a Brave CF debutante.

Bahrain will host the 2018 Brave International Combat Week from November 11-18, 2018. It will feature a premium edition of Brave CF alongside the 2018 IMMAF World Championships.